Orem GIS for the Public

Introduction

Orem maintains dozens of GIS layers, utilizing both city employees and external entities. However, not all of these layers are available to the public. Some of these layers are restricted by law, primarily when the safety of our citizens would be at risk to disseminate such information. Some layers are shareable in limited forms and in limited geographical areas. For instance, some data are only shareable in CAD format while other information can only be obtained on paper.

For layers that are shareable with the public, we offer a few different formats. Each of them has its own method of public delivery.

All data provided by Orem City is in NAD27 Utah Central state plane coordinates.

Accuracy and Accountability

Data obtained from Orem is bound to be pretty accurate, but we still do not guarantee error-free data. When it comes to property lines and building footprints, errors in survey methods and coordinate systems are inherent. A deed or legal description is always the court-worthy document for dispute purposes.

Someone in the Swiss Army once said, "When the map and the terrain differ -- trust the terrain." In other words, if our data says that something is at a location and you go there and it's not, then believe the fact that it's not. And if our data says that nothing is at another location and you go there and something IS there, then believe the fact that something's there. I would also say, "When the map and the legal documents differ -- trust the legal documents."

Data on CD

Data is available on CD in two formats: CAD and ESRI Shapefile. The CAD CD costs $100.00. The ESRI Shapefile CD is $5.00. A list of the shapefiles appears in a table at the bottom of this page. The CAD CD contains all of the layers digitized.

To purchase the CAD CD, contact Neal Winterton at (801) 229-7337. To purchase the ESRI Shapefile CD, contact Roger Dunn at (801) 229-7005. Once your order is made, come to 56 N State Street in Orem. Look for the main structure closest to the intersection of State Street and Center Street. There you'll find Development Services on the main floor (Room 109). Ask for your CD and they will accept your payment at the counter.

Data On-line

Streaming GIS

If you have ArcGIS 8.x or 9.x installed, you can access up-to-the-minute data live on gis.orem.org. To access it, open ArcCatalog, then follow these steps:

If you have ArcGIS 9.x:

Expand GIS Servers
Double-click Add ArcIMS Server
For the URL, type gis.orem.org
It's best to accept to view All services

If you have ArcGIS 8.x:

Expand Internet Servers
Double-click Add Internet Server
For the URL, type gis.orem.org
It's best to accept to view All services

Once you click OK, you should see a connection to gis.orem.org. Double-click that node to actually make the connection and you will see a few datasets to choose from. Go ahead and preview any of these in ArcCatalog or add them to your ArcMap documents. You're free to query, symbolize, label, and set lots of other properties on them. You can even "download" them by exporting them to shapefile, personal geodatabase, or SDE geodatabase.

The following chart lists the ESRI Shapefile layers that come on the CD. If a layer is available at gis.orem.org through ArcGIS, its dataset and layer name will be specified. Many of the layers available on CD are not maintained by Orem. That means that they originally came from another source, even if we paid for it, and any changes to the actual, physical layer may not be propogated to the digital layer in a timely manner.

Layer	Description/Notes	gis.orem.org
Boundary	City Boundary	Boundaries City Boundary
Buildings	This actually contains a mix of building footprints and building plans, which often differ. Some of it is obtained from a fly-over, some of it is obtained from plat drawings.
Cell Towers	This layer is not maintained by Orem.
Cemetery	This layer includes names and dates of the interred, as well as which plots are available for purchase.
City-owned Trees	Maintained by our TreeGIS application. This layer only includes the TreeIDs. In other words, tree species, value, and other unique characteristics are indeterminable with this layer.
Contours	Elevation contours every two feet.
Filing Blocks	The City Recorder's Office divides the city into blocks for document indexing purposes. This layer shows those boundaries.
Fly-Over (November 2007)	Color, 6-inch resolution aerial photo. The CD contains five MrSID images that together cover the entire city. The ArcIMS Image Service reads an ArcSDE 9.3 geodatabase that was created by mosaicking the original TIFF images together.	FlyOver200711
Major Street Names	This layer is primarily for cartegraphic purposes. It labels the major streets from outside the city boundary.
Neighborhoods in Action	Orem Neighborhoods and contact information for neighborhood boards.	Boundaries Neighborhoods in Action
Parcels	Utah county has a parcel layer available at http://ims2.co.utah.ut.us/website/download1/data1.cfm. Their layer contains owner names and mailing addresses and is in NAD83. Our layer contains land use codes and other city-specific fields.	Boundaries Parcels
Parks	City Parks.	Boundaries City Parks
Police Quads	The Police Department divides the city into blocks for reporting purposes. Their statistics are calculated for each of these blocks. You also get crime statistics for the last three years with this layer.	Boundaries Police Statistical Grid
Railroad	Railroad tracks.
RDA	Redevelopment Agency Boundaries.
School Boundaries	Delineates boundaries for public schools in the Alpine school district. These layers are not maintained by Orem.
Section Corners	These are used for making legal descriptions in Township and Range coordinates.
Sign Zones	Sign regulations differ, depending on the sign zone of the intended sign. This layer is simply the boundaries and names for these zones.	Boundaries Sign Zones
Soils	Orem does not maintain this layer.
Standard Land Use Codes (SLU)	Also known as Orem's General Plan.	Boundaries General Plan
Street Centerlines	This layer helps us geocode and label streets on our maps.	Orem Centerlines Streets
Street Outline	This layer shows roads by width and curvature as it follows the roads' asphalt outline. This layer is not maintained by Orem.
Swamp	Swampland.
Traffic Signals	One signal point per intersection, no matter how many signals are actually at the intersection.
Trash Routes	Waste Management's layer indicates which areas get picked up by which crew on which day of the week. Orem does not maintain this layer.	Boundaries Trash Routes
Utah Valley Cities	City boundaries for all cities in Utah Valley. Orem does not maintain this layer.
Voting Precincts 2008	Each precinct is also assigned to a House Representative, State Senator, Congressional District, and Alpine School District number.	Boundaries Voting Precincts
Wetlands	Wetlands. Orem does not maintain this layer.
Youth Sports Boundaries	The Orem Fitness Center uses miniature boundaries to divide children into teams who sign up for them.	Boundaries Orem Youth Sports Boundaries
Zip Codes	84057, 84058, and 84097. Orem does not maintain this layer.
Zones	Planning Zones, such as R8, C2, and OS5.	Boundaries Zones